Dryer and controlling method thereof

ABSTRACT

A including a sensor, a memory configured to store at least one instruction, and a processor configured to obtain, by being connected with the memory and executing at least one instruction, an internal humidity of the dryer through the sensor, identify an external humidity of the dryer based on the obtained internal humidity, obtain, based on a change in the internal humidity and the external humidity, information on an amount of emitted moisture of a drying object inserted in the dryer, and identify whether drying is complete by comparing information on the amount of emitted moisture with a threshold value.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application, under 35 U.S.C. §111(a), of International Application No. PCT/KR2022/012932, filed onAug. 30, 2022, which claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2021-0114710, filed on Aug. 30, 2021, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated by referenceherein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The disclosure relates to a dryer and a controlling method thereof, andmore particularly, to a dryer configured to identify humidity inside thedryer through at least one humidity sensor and determine a dryingprogress state and drying complete time point based on the identifiedinternal humidity and a controlling method thereof

2. Description of Related Art

Dryers of the related art have performed drying until a surface is driedby pre-setting time relying on firsthand experience of a user oridentifying amount of moisture of the surface by using anelectrode-based contact-type sensor to determine how long drying is tobe performed on clothing which is inserted in the dryer, and thenperformed drying in a method of performing further drying additionallyfor a certain time.

Dryers of the related art have had the problem of drying being completedin a wet state due to the user inputting a wrong time relying on theexperience of the user, or clothing being damaged due to continuousdrying being performed in a state in which the drying is complete.

Dryers using a method of contacting a drying degree of the surface byusing a contact-type electrode has the problem of semi-drying orover-drying occurring due to the time for performing additional dryingafter the surface of the clothing is dried being based on a pre-set timeby a manufacturer.

Dryers of the related art have the problem of selecting a type ofclothing every time the user starts drying due to drying times varyingaccording to a material of the clothing.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment, a dryer includes at least one sensor tosense an internal humidity of the dryer, a memory configured to store atleast one instruction, and a processor connected with the memory andconfigured to control the dryer, and the processor is configured toobtain, based on executing the at least one instruction, the internalhumidity of the dryer through the at least one sensor, identify anexternal humidity of the dryer based on the obtained internal humidity,obtain, based on a change in the internal humidity and a change in theexternal humidity, information on an amount of moisture of an objectplaced in the dryer to be dried, and identify whether a drying operationis complete by comparing the information on the amount of moisture ofthe object with a threshold value.

The processor may be configured to identify a change rate in theinternal humidity, and identify the external humidity based on theidentified change rate.

The processor may be configured to identify whether the internalhumidity passed a maximum humidity point, identify whether the changerate in the internal humidity passed a minimum change rate point,identify, based on identifying that the internal humidity passed themaximum humidity point and the change rate in the internal humiditypassed the minimum change rate point, the change rate in the internalhumidity, identify, based on the identified change rate in the internalhumidity, a predicted point at which the change rate in the internalhumidity becomes 0, identify a predicted internal humidity at a point atwhich the predicted change rate in the internal humidity becomes 0, andidentify the predicted internal humidity as the external humidity.

The processor may be configured to identify a value of the internalhumidity compared to the external humidity as the amount of moisture ofthe object, identify a ratio value of the identified amount of moistureof the object with respect to a maximum value of the amount of moistureof the object, and identify the drying operation as complete based onthe ratio value being less than or equal to the threshold value.

The threshold value may be set differently according to a characteristicof a object.

The characteristic of the object may include at least one from among amaximum value of the amount of moisture of the object and a time spenton drying.

The processor may be configured to identify a change pattern in theinternal humidity, predict a drying complete time point based on theidentified change pattern, and provide the predicted drying completetime point.

According to an embodiment, a controlling method of a dryer includesobtaining an internal humidity of the dryer from at least one sensor,identifying an external humidity of the dryer based on the obtainedinternal humidity, obtaining, based on a change in the internal humidityand a change in the external humidity, information on an amount ofmoisture of an object placed in the dryer to be dried, and identifyingwhether a drying operation is complete by comparing the information onthe amount of moisture of the object with a threshold value.

The identifying the external humidity may include identifying a changerate in the internal humidity, and identifying the external humiditybased on the identified change rate.

The identifying the external humidity may include identifying whetherthe internal humidity passed a maximum humidity point, identifyingwhether a change rate in the internal humidity passed a minimum changerate point, identifying, based on identifying that the internal humiditypassed the maximum humidity point and the change rate in the internalhumidity passed the minimum change rate point, the change rate in theinternal humidity, identifying, based on the identified change rate inthe internal humidity, a predicted point at which the change rate in theinternal humidity becomes 0, identifying a predicted internal humidityat a point at which a change rate in the predicted internal humiditybecomes 0, and identifying the predicted internal humidity as theexternal humidity.

The obtaining the information on the amount of moisture of the objectmay include identifying a value of the internal humidity compared to theexternal humidity as the amount of moisture of the object, andidentifying a ratio value of the identified amount of moisture of theobject with respect to a maximum value of the moisture of the object,and the identifying whether drying is complete may include identifyingdrying as complete based on the ratio value being less than or equal tothe threshold value.

The threshold value may be set differently according to a characteristicof the object.

The characteristic of the object may include at least one from among amaximum value of an amount of moisture of the object and a time spent ondrying.

The controlling method may further include identifying a change patternin the internal humidity, predicting a drying complete time point basedon the identified change pattern, and providing the predicted dryingcomplete time point.

According to an embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable recordingmedium including a program for executing a controlling method of a dryerincludes obtaining an internal humidity of the dryer from at least onesensor, identifying an external humidity of the dryer based on theobtained internal humidity, obtaining, based on a change in the internalhumidity and a change in the external humidity, information on an amountof moisture of an object placed in the dryer to be dried, andidentifying whether a drying operation is complete by comparing theinformation on the amount of moisture emitted from the object with athreshold value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a dryeraccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view illustrating a dryer according to anembodiment;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view illustrating an open state of a dryeraccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a controlling method of a dryeraccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 4A is a graph illustrating a change in internal humiditycorresponding to a drying progress time when drying a drying object in adryer according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4B is a graph illustrating a change rate in internal humiditycorresponding to a drying progress time when drying a drying object in adryer according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a method of identifying whether dryingis completed by a dryer according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a method of identifying whether dryingis completed by a dryer according to an embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating an internal humidity according to adrying progress time when a material of fast drying rate, a material ofslow drying rate, or mixed materials (e.g., a material of fast dryingrate and a material of slow drying rate) is inserted in a dryer;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a method of setting a threshold valuedifferently according to a characteristic of a drying object accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a method of setting a threshold valuedifferently according to a characteristic of a drying object accordingto an embodiment; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a controlling method of a dryeraccording to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various modifications may be made to the embodiments of the disclosure,and there may be various types of embodiments. Accordingly, specificembodiments will be illustrated in drawings, and the embodiments will bedescribed in detail in the detailed description. However, it should benoted that the various embodiments are not for limiting the scope of thedisclosure to a specific embodiment, but they should be interpreted toinclude all modifications, equivalents and/or alternatives of theembodiments. With respect to the description on the drawings, likereference numerals may be used to indicate like elements.

In describing the disclosure, in case it is determined that the detaileddescription of related known technologies may unnecessarily confuse thegist of the disclosure, the detailed description thereof will beomitted.

Further, the embodiments below may be modified to various differentforms, and it is to be understood that the scope of the technical spiritof the disclosure is not limited to the embodiments below. Rather, theembodiments are provided so that the disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and to fully convey the technical spirit of the disclosure tothose skilled in the art.

Terms used herein have merely been used to describe a specificembodiment, and not to limit the scope the disclosure. A singularexpression includes a plural expression, unless otherwise specified.

In the disclosure, expressions such as “comprise,” “may comprise,”“include,” “may include,” or the like are used to designate a presenceof a corresponding characteristic (e.g., elements such as numericalvalue, function, operation, or component, etc.), and not to preclude apresence or a possibility of additional characteristics.

In the disclosure, expressions such as “A or B,” “at least one of Aand/or B,” or “one or more of A and/or B” may include all possiblecombinations of the items listed together. For example, “A or B,” “atleast one of A and B,” or “at least one of A or B” may refer to allcases including (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) both ofat least one A and at least one B.

Expressions such as “first,” “second,” “1st,” “2nd,” and so on usedherein may be used to refer to various elements regardless of orderand/or importance. Further, it should be noted that the expressions aremerely used to distinguish an element from another element and not tolimit the relevant elements.

When a certain element (e.g., first element) is indicated as being“(operatively or communicatively) coupled with/to” or “connected to”another element (e.g., second element), it may be understood as thecertain element being directly coupled with/to the another element or asbeing coupled through other element (e.g., third element).

On the other hand, when a certain element (e.g., first element) isindicated as “directly coupled with/to” or “directly connected to”another element (e.g., second element), it may be understood as theother element (e.g., third element) not being present between thecertain element and the another element.

The expression “configured to . . . (or set up to)” used in thedisclosure may be used interchangeably with, for example, “suitable for. . . ,” “having the capacity to . . . ,” “designed to . . . ,” “adaptedto . . . ,” “made to . . . ,” or “capable of... ” based on circumstance.The term “configured to . . . (or set up to)” may not necessarily mean“specifically designed to” in terms of hardware.

Rather, in a certain circumstance, the expression “a device configuredto . . . ” may mean something that the device “may perform . . . ”together with another device or components. For example, the phrase “aprocessor configured to (or set up to) perform A, B, or C” may mean adedicated processor for performing a corresponding operation (e.g.,embedded processor), or a generic-purpose processor (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU) or an application processor) capable of performingthe corresponding operations by executing one or more software programsstored in the memory device.

The terms “module” or “part” used in the embodiments herein perform atleast one function or operation, and may be implemented with a hardwareor software, or a combination of hardware and software. In addition, aplurality of “modules” or a plurality of “parts”, except for a “module”or a “part” which needs to be implemented to a specific hardware, may beintegrated to at least one module and implemented in at least oneprocessor.

Various elements and areas in the drawings have been schematicallydrawn. Accordingly, it should be understood that the technical spirit ofthe disclosure is not limited by the relative size or distanceillustrated in the accompanied drawings.

The embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail below toassist those of ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosurepertains to easily realize the embodiments according to the disclosurewith reference to the accompanying drawings.

Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentionedproblems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantagesdescribed below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to providea dryer which accurately identifies a drying progress state and a dryingcomplete time point by detecting humidity inside the dryer using ahumidity sensor and improving a drying function of the dryer and acontrolling method thereof

Through the above-described embodiments, a drying function of the dryermay be improved as the drying progress state and the drying completetime point are accurately determined based on a humidity value insidethe dryer.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a dryer 100 may include a sensor 110, a memory120, a drum 130, a heater 140, a fan 150, a user interface 160, acommunication interface 170, a display 180, and a processor 190. Theydryer 100 may be configured such that at least some of the elements areomitted, and other elements are further included.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the dryer 100 may include a main body 10forming an exterior. The main body 10 may be in a cuboid shape elongatedin a vertical direction. However, the above is one example provided forconvenience of description and the main body 10 may be implemented tovarious shapes.

The main body 10 may include a front surface panel 11, a top surfacepanel 12, and a side rear surface panel 13.

The main body 10 may include an opening 10H (referring to FIG. 2B)formed at one side, and the opening 10H may be opened toward a frontdirection of the main body 10 by being formed at the front surface panel11. In this case, a door 14 may be coupled to the main body 10 so as toopen and close the opening 10H. As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the opening10H may be formed at one side of the main body 10, and the opening 10Hmay be formed in a circular shape on the front surface panel 11.

The door 14 may open and close the opening 10H by being coupled to bepivotable to the front surface panel 11. Specifically, as illustrated inFIG. 2B, a hinge 14-1 may be disposed at one side of the front surfacepanel 11 which is adjacent to the opening 10H, and the door 14 may becoupled to the hinge 14-1 and configured to open and close the opening10H by rotating based on the hinge 14-1.

The door 14 may be of a circular shape corresponding to a shape of theopening 10H, and configured such that a diameter is greater than theopening 10H. Accordingly, a drying object may be inserted in a dryingchamber (not shown) of the drum 130 through the opening 10H as the door14 is opened.

The sensor 110 may be a humidity sensor for measuring humidity of aninner air of the dryer 100 or a temperature sensor for measuringtemperature installed inside the dryer 100. The sensor 110 may beconfigured to detect the humidity of air flowing out from the drum 130.The sensor 110 may be installed in the drum 130, the heater 140, a flowpath (not shown) or a duct (not shown) formed between the drum 130 andthe heater 140, but this is merely one embodiment, and the sensor 110may be installed in various spaces inside of the dryer 100. At thistime, the dryer 100 may include at least one sensor 110.

The sensor 110 may be configured to measure an absolute humidity of theinner air of the dryer 100. Alternatively, the sensor 110 may beconfigured to measure a relative humidity and temperature of the innerair of the dryer 100. The temperature and relative humidity measured bythe sensor 110 may be converted to the absolute humidity by theprocessor 190. The sensor 110 may be configured to measure at least onefrom among the absolute humidity and the relative humidity of the innerair which changes according to time.

The memory 120 may be configured to store at least one instruction onthe dryer 100. The memory 120 may be configured to store an operatingsystem (O/S) to operate the dryer 100. The memory 120 may be configuredto store a threshold value for the dryer 100 to identify whether dryingis complete. In addition, the memory 120 may be configured to storevarious software programs or applications to operate the dryer 100according to various embodiments of the disclosure. Further, the memory120 may include a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory and thelike or a magnetic storage medium such as a hard disk and the like.

Specifically, the memory 120 may be configured to store various softwaremodules for operating the dryer 100, and the processor 190 may beconfigured to control the operation of the dryer 100 by executing thevarious software modules stored in the memory 120 according to thevarious embodiments of the disclosure. That is, the memory 120 may beaccessed by the processor 190, andreading/writing/modifying/deleting/updating and the like of data may beperformed by the processor 190.

In the disclosure, the term ‘memory 120’ may include the memory 120, aread only memory (ROM; not shown) in the processor 190, a random accessmemory (RAM; not shown), or a memory card (not shown; e.g., a micro SDcard, a memory stick) mounted to the dryer 100.

The drum 130 may be configured such that a drying object isaccommodated. Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the drum 130 may be disposedrotatably inside the main body 10, and as the drum 130 is connected withthe opening 10H, a drying object to be dried may be inserted insidethrough the opening 10H. Specifically, the drum 130 may include thedrying chamber (not shown) connected with the opening 10H, and thedrying object to be dried which is inserted in the drying chamber (notshown) through the opening 10H may be dried by hot air introduced to thedrying chamber (not shown). The drying object inserted in the dryingchamber (not shown) may be tumbled according to a rotation of the drum130 and air may be applied uniformly to the drying object.

The inside of the main body 10 may be provided with a motor (not shown),and the drum 130 may be rotated according to a rotation of the motor(not shown). Through the above, the drying object inserted in the dryingchamber (not shown) may be tumbled and hot air may be applied uniformlyto the drying object.

The heater 140 may generate air in which the temperature is high andrelative humidity is low by heating external air, and the correspondingair may be provided to the drum 130. The dryer 100 may generate air of atarget temperature by controlling the operation of the heater 140according to the temperature of provided air or air discharged from thedrum 130.

The fan 150 may generate an air flow according to rotation. The fan 150may be operated according to the motor (not shown), and a rotation speedand a rotation direction of the fan 150 may be changed according to thecontrol of the motor (not shown). To dry the drying object accommodatedin the drum 130, air discharged from the drum 130 may be introduced backto the drum 130 through a condensation and heating process. That is, theair may be circulated along the flow path (not shown) according to therotation of the fan 150.

The user interface 160 may be implemented as a device such as a button,a touch pad, a mouse, and a keyboard, or implemented as a touch screencapable of performing the above-described display function with anoperation input function. Here, the button may be a button of varioustypes such as a mechanical button, a touch pad, or a wheel formed at arandom area such as a front surface part or a side surface part, a rearsurface part or the like of the exterior of the main body of the dryer100. Various user inputs may be input to control the dryer 100 throughthe user interface 160. For example, referring to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B,the user interface 160 may be implemented through a control panel 15, anoperating part 15-1, and the like. The control panel 15 may be disposedat a top end of the front surface panel 11. The control panel 15 mayinclude the operating part 15-1 configured to input an operating commandfor operating the dryer 100 and a display part 15-2 configured todisplay operating information of a clothing dryer 100. In this case, auser may input various user commands for operating the dryer 100 throughthe operating part 15-1. To this end, the operating part 15-1 mayinclude a button, an operating dial, and the like. For example, the usermay select a desired course through the button or the operating dialprovided at the operating part 15-1.

The communication interface 170 comprising circuitry may be aconfiguration capable of communicating with an external device and aserver. The communication interface 170 may be configured to performcommunication with the external device and the server based on a wiredor wireless communication method. According to an embodiment, thecommunication interface 170 may be configured to perform communicationwith the external device and the server through wireless communication.In this case, the communication interface 170 may include a Wi-Fi module(not shown), a Bluetooth module (not shown), an infrared (IR) module, alocal area network (LAN) module, an Ethernet module, and the like. Here,the respective communication modules may be implemented to at least onehardware chip form. The wireless communication module may include atleast one communication chip configured to perform communicationaccording to various wireless communication standards such as ZigBee,Universal Serial Bus (USB), Mobile Industry Processor Interface CameraSerial Interface (MIPI CSI), 3rd Generation (3G), 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced(LTE-A), 4th Generation (4G), 5th Generation (5G), and the like inaddition to the above-described communication method. However, this ismerely one embodiment, and the communication interface 170 may beconfigured to use at least one communication module from among thevarious communication modules. The dryer 100 may be configured totransmit information on the drying complete time point to the externaldevice through the communication interface 170.

The display 180 may be disposed outside of the dryer and configured todisplay a UI screen for selecting a configuration to set a drying mode.The display 180 may be configured to display information on the dryingcomplete time point. Specifically, the display 180 may be configured tooutput a pre-stored image in the memory 120 by the control of theprocessor 190. In addition, the display 180 may be configured to displaya user interface (UI) stored in the memory 120. The display 180 may beimplemented as a liquid crystal display panel (LCD), an organic lightemitting diodes (OLED), and the like, and the display 180 may also beimplemented as a flexible display, a transparent display, and the likein some instances. However, the display 180 according to the disclosureis not limited to a specific type. For example, referring to FIG. 2A,the display 180 may be implemented as a display screen 15-2 displayingoperating information of the dryer 100 in a visual image. At this time,the display screen 15-2 may be configured as a touch screen capable ofreceiving an operating command of the user.

The processor 190 may be configured to control the overall operation andfunctions of the dryer 100. Specifically, the processor 190 may beconnected with a configuration of the dryer 100 including the memory120, and by executing the at least instruction stored in the memory 120as described above, control the overall operation of the dryer 100.

The processor 190 may be implemented in various methods. For example,the processor 190 may be implemented as at least one from among anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an embedded processor, amicroprocessor, a hardware control logic, a hardware finite statemachine (FSM), and a digital signal processor (DSP). In the disclosure,the term processor 190 may be used as including a central processingunit (CPU), a graphic processing unit (GPU), a main processing unit(MPU), and the like.

The processor 190 may include a humidity identifying module 191, anamount of moisture information obtaining module 192, and a dryingcomplete identifying module 193. A plurality of modules according to thedisclosure may be implemented as a software module or a hardware module,and based on the plurality of modules being implemented as a softwaremodule, the processor 190 may be configured to access the softwaremodule by loading the software module stored in the memory 120.

The humidity identifying module 191 may be configured to obtain theinternal humidity of the dryer 100 through the sensor 110. The internalhumidity may mean an absolute humidity value inside of the dryer 100.The humidity identifying module 191 may be configured to obtain theabsolute humidity inside of the dryer 100 through the sensor 110.Alternatively, the humidity identifying module 191 may be configured toobtain the temperature and relative humidity inside of the dryer throughthe sensor 110. The humidity identifying module 191 may be configured toobtain the absolute humidity of the inner air of the dryer 100 by usingthe obtained temperature and relative humidity.

Based on the obtained internal humidity, the humidity identifying module191 may be configured to identify the external humidity of the dryer100. The humidity identifying module 191 may be configured to identifythe change rate in the internal humidity, and identify the externalhumidity based on the identified change rate in the internal humidity.The change rate in the internal humidity may mean a rate of which theinternal humidity changes per unit time according to a flow of time. Thehumidity identifying module 191 may be configured to identify apredicted point at which the change rate in the internal humiditybecomes 0 based on the identified change rate in the internal humidity.For example, the humidity identifying module 191 may be configured toidentify the predicted point at which the change rate in the internalhumidity becomes 0 by using extrapolation.

The humidity identifying module 191 may be configured to identifywhether the internal humidity passed a maximum humidity point. Themaximum humidity point may be a point at which an internal humidityvalue which changes according to time has a local maximum value. Thehumidity identifying module 191 may be configured to identify whetherthe change rate in the internal humidity passed a minimum change ratepoint. The minimum change rate point may be a point at which a value ofthe change rate in the internal humidity which changes according to timehas a local minimum value. Based on the internal humidity passing themaximum humidity point and the change rate in the internal humiditypassing the minimum change rate point, the humidity identifying module191 may be configured to identify the external humidity.

A detailed method of identifying the external humidity of the dryer 100by the humidity identifying module 191 will be described through FIG. 4Aand FIG. 4B.

The amount of moisture information obtaining module 192 may beconfigured to obtain amount of emitted moisture information of thedrying object which is inserted inside the dryer 100. The amount ofemitted moisture may mean absolute humidity information which is emittedper unit time from the drying object that is inserted inside the dryer100. The amount of moisture information obtaining module 192 may beconfigured to identify a value of the internal humidity with respect tothe external humidity as the amount of emitted moisture of the dryingobject. The amount of moisture information obtaining module 192 may beconfigured to identify a value in which the identified absolute humidityvalue of the external humidity is subtracted from the absolute humidityvalue of the internal humidity obtained through the sensor 110 as theamount of emitted moisture.

The amount of moisture information obtaining module 192 may beconfigured to identify a ratio value of the amount of emitted moisturewith respect to the maximum value of the amount of emitted moisture. Themaximum value of the amount of emitted moisture may mean the amount ofemitted moisture in case the internal humidity is at the maximumhumidity point. For example, the ratio value of the amount of emittedmoisture with respect to the maximum value of the amount of emittedmoisture may be defined as in Equation 1, but this is merely oneembodiment and may be defined based on various equations.

$\begin{matrix}{{{ratio}{value}} = \frac{{{internal}{humidity}} - {{external}{humidity}}}{\begin{matrix}{{{internal}{humidity}{maximum}{value}} -} \\{{external}{humidity}}\end{matrix}}} & {{Equation}1}\end{matrix}$

The drying complete identifying module 193 may be configured to comparethe information on the amount of emitted moisture with a thresholdvalue, and identify whether drying is complete. The drying completeidentifying module 193 may be configured to identify drying as beingcompleted when the identified ratio value is less than or equal to thethreshold value.

A detailed method of identifying whether the drying is complete by thedrying complete identifying module 193 will be described through FIG. 5Aand FIG. 5B.

The threshold value may be set differently according to a characteristicof the drying object. The characteristic of the drying object mayinclude at least one from among the maximum value of the amount ofemitted moisture of the drying object and a time spent on drying. Thetime spent on drying may mean a time spent until the ratio valueidentified by the amount of moisture information obtaining module 192reaches a point which is a pre-set value. Based on the characteristic ofthe drying object, the threshold value may be set. That is, thethreshold value may be set differently according to a characteristicvalue of the drying object. The drying complete identifying module 193may be configured to identify the drying as complete based on the ratiovalue of the amount of emitted moisture to the maximum value of theamount of emitted moisture being less than or equal to a pre-setthreshold value.

A detailed method of setting the threshold value differently accordingto the characteristic of the drying object will be described in detailthrough FIG. 8 . The drying complete identifying module 193 may beconfigured to identify a change pattern in the internal humidity. Thedrying complete identifying module 193 may be configured to predict thedrying complete time point based on the identified change pattern in theinternal humidity. The drying complete identifying module 193 may beconfigured to provide the predicted drying complete time point. Forexample, the drying complete identifying module 193 may be configured tocontrol the display so that the predicted drying complete time point isdisplayed through the display 180 included in the dryer 100, but this ismerely one embodiment, and the drying complete identifying module 193may be configured to transmit information on the drying complete timepoint to the external device through the communication interface 170.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a controlling method of the dryer 300according to an embodiment.

The dryer 100 may be configured to obtain the internal humidity of thedryer 100 (S310). The dryer 100 may be configured to obtain the internalhumidity by using the sensor 110 included in the dryer 100.

The dryer 100 may be configured to identify whether the internalhumidity passed the maximum humidity point (S320). The maximum humiditypoint may mean the point at which the internal humidity has a localmaximum value.

Referring to FIG. 4A, a graph illustrating a change in the internalhumidity corresponding to the drying progress time when the dryingobject is dried in the dryer 100 according to an embodiment is shown.Referring to FIG. 4B, a graph illustrating the change rate in theinternal humidity corresponding to the drying progress time when thedrying object is dried in the dryer 100 according to an embodiment isshown.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the internal humidity may increase as dryingprogresses and then decrease after passing a maximum humidity point 410.Referring to FIG. 4B, the maximum humidity point may be local maximumpoints 410 and 450 at which the change rate in the internal humidity ischanged from (+) to (−).

Based on the internal humidity not passing the maximum humidity point(S320-N), the dryer 100 may be configured to identify again whether theinternal humidity has passed the maximum humidity point (S320).

Based on the internal humidity passing the maximum humidity point(S320-Y), the dryer 100 may be configured to identify whether the changerate in the internal humidity passed the minimum change rate point(S330). The minimum change rate point may mean the point at which thechange rate in the internal humidity has a local minimum value.

Referring to FIG. 4B, as drying is progressed, the change rate in theinternal humidity may reduce and become closer to 0 after passing theminimum change rate point 460. The minimum change rate point may be thelocal minimum point 460 at which the change rate of the internalhumidity change rate is changed from (−) to (+). The internal humidityat a point in which the change rate in the internal humidity is 0 maymean the external humidity.

Based on the change rate in the internal humidity not passing theminimum change rate point (S330-N), the dryer 100 may be configured toidentify again whether the change rate in the internal humidity haspassed the minimum change rate point (S320).

Based on the change rate in the internal humidity passing the minimumchange rate point (S330-Y), the dryer 100 may be configured to identifythe external humidity of the dryer based on the obtained change in theinternal humidity (S340). The dryer 100 may be configured to identify,based on the change rate in the internal humidity, the point at whichthe change rate in the internal humidity is predicted to be 0, andidentify the external humidity based on the identified point.

Referring to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the processor 190 may be configured toidentify a predicted point 480 at which the change rate in the internalhumidity becomes 0 based on the internal humidity change rate atspecific points 420 and 470 where drying is in progress. For example,the processor 190 may be configured to identify a predicted point 480 atwhich the change rate in the internal humidity becomes 0 by usingextrapolation. Extrapolation may mean a method of estimating new databeyond known data, and may include a linear extrapolation, a polynomialextrapolation, and a conic extrapolation. For example, based on thechange rate of the internal humidity change rate being 1 at a specificpoint 470, a point at which an x-intercept of a linear expression or aquadratic expression passing the specific point 470 having a gradient of1 may be the predicted point 480 at which the internal humidity changerate becomes 0.

An area 490 from the specific point 470 to the predicted point 480 atwhich the internal humidity change rate becomes 0 in the graphillustrated in FIG. 4B may mean a difference value 430 between theinternal humidity and the external humidity measured from a specificpoint 420 in the graph illustrated in FIG. 4A. A value in which thedifference value 430 between the internal humidity and the externalhumidity is subtracted from an internal humidity value obtained from thespecific point 420 may mean an external humidity value. The processor190 may be configured to identify the area 490 from the specific point470 to the predicted point 480 at which the internal humidity changerate becomes 0, and identify the external humidity by subtracting thearea 490 identified from the internal humidity which is obtained fromthe specific point 420.

The specific points 420 and 470 may mean one point or a plurality ofpoints after the internal humidity passes a maximum internal humiditypoint 410, and the internal humidity change rate passes a minimum changerate point 460. The processor 190 may be configured to identify theexternal humidity by using the above-described method at least onceafter passing the maximum internal humidity point 410 and the minimumchange rate point 460, and update the identified external humidityvalue.

The dryer 100 may be configured to obtain, based on a change in theinternal humidity and external humidity, information on the amount ofemitted moisture of the drying object inserted in the dryer 100 (S350).The amount of emitted moisture at a specific point may mean a value inwhich the external humidity is subtracted from the internal humidityobtained at a specific point. Information on the amount of emittedmoisture may include a ratio value of the amount of emitted moisturewith respect to the maximum value of the amount of emitted moisture.

Referring to FIG. 5A, the moisture content emitted from the maximuminternal humidity point may be α. The moisture content emitted from themaximum internal humidity point may mean the maximum value of the amountof emitted moisture. At this time, α may mean the value in which theexternal humidity value is subtracted from the internal humidity valueobtained at the maximum internal humidity point. The moisture contentemitted from the specific point may be β. At this time, β may mean thevalue in which the external humidity value is subtracted from theinternal humidity value obtained at a specific point. The ratio value ofthe amount of emitted moisture at the specific point with respect to themaximum value of the amount of emitted moisture may be β/α.

Referring to FIG. 5B, based on three times of an amount of drying objectinserted in FIG. 4A being inserted, the moisture content emitted fromthe maximum internal humidity point may be 3α. The moisture contentemitted from the specific point may be 3β. The ratio value of the amountof emitted moisture at a specific point with respect to the maximumvalue of the amount of emitted moisture may be β/α. The dryer 100 may beconfigured to identify whether the ratio value of the amount of emittedmoisture with respect to the maximum value of the amount of emittedmoisture is less than or equal to a pre-set value (S360).

Based on the ratio value of the amount of emitted moisture with respectto the maximum value of the amount of emitted moisture being greaterthan the pre-set value (S360-N), the dryer 100 may be configured toidentify the external humidity of the dryer based on the obtainedinternal humidity.

Based on the ratio value of the amount of emitted moisture with respectto the maximum value of the amount of emitted moisture being less thanor equal to the pre-set value (S360-Y), the dryer 100 may be configuredto set a threshold value based on the characteristic of the dryingobject inserted inside the dryer 100 (S370). The characteristic of thedrying object may include at least one from among the maximum value ofthe amount of emitted moisture of the drying object and the time spenton drying. The need to set a threshold value based on the characteristicof the drying object will be described through FIG. 6 to FIG. 7 , and adetailed method of setting the threshold value based on thecharacteristic of the drying object will be described through FIG. 8 .

Referring to FIG. 6 , a graph 610 showing the internal humidity when adrying object with a material of fast drying rate is inserted in thedryer 100, a graph 620 showing the internal humidity when a dryingobject with a material of slow drying rate is inserted in the dryer 100,and a graph 630 showing the internal humidity when drying objects withmixed materials are inserted in the dryer 100 are illustrated.

Point A 611 may mean a point at which the ratio value of the amount ofemitted moisture with respect to the maximum value of the amount ofemitted moisture is the same as 0.15 which is a first threshold valuewhen the drying object with the material of fast drying rate is insertedin the dryer 100. At this time, the drying object with the material offast drying rate may be in a state in which drying is complete.

Point B 621 may mean a point at which the ratio value of the amount ofemitted moisture with respect to the maximum value of the amount ofemitted moisture is the same as 0.15 which is the first threshold valuewhen the drying object with the material of slow drying rate is insertedin the dryer 100. At this time, the drying object with the material ofslow drying rate may be in a state in which drying is complete.

Point C 631 may mean a point at which the ratio value of the amount ofemitted moisture with respect to the maximum value of the amount ofemitted moisture is the same as 0.15 which is the first threshold valuewhen the drying object with the material of fast drying rate and thedrying object with the material of slow drying rate are insertedtogether in the dryer 100. At point C 631, the drying object with thematerial of fast drying rate may be in a state in which drying iscomplete, but the drying object with the material of slow drying ratemay be in a state in which drying is incomplete.

Point D 641 may mean a point at which the ratio value of the amount ofemitted moisture with respect to the maximum value of the amount ofemitted moisture is the same as 0.07 which is a second threshold valuewhen the drying object with the material of fast drying rate and thedrying object with the material of slow drying rate are insertedtogether in the dryer 100. At this time, the drying object with thematerial of fast drying rate and the drying object with the material ofslow drying rate may both be in a state in which drying is complete.

Referring to FIG. 7 , a first graph 710 showing the internal humidityaccording to a drying time when shirts of a small amount are inserted tothe dryer 100, a second graph 720 showing the internal humidityaccording to the drying time when shirts of a large amount are insertedin the dryer 100, and a third graph 730 showing the internal humidityaccording to the drying time when a jean is inserted in the dryer 100are illustrated.

Referring to the first graph and the third graph, even if the maximuminternal humidity of the shirts of a small amount and jean are the same,the time spent until drying is complete may be shorter with respect tothe shirts of a small amount.

Referring to the first graph and the second graph, even if the sameshirt is inserted in the dryer 100, the maximum internal humidity andthe time spent on drying may be different according to the insertedamount of drying object. The time spent on drying may mean the timespent until the amount of emitted moisture with respect to the maximumvalue of the amount of emitted moisture reaches a pre-set value. Themaximum internal humidity and the time spent on drying may be differentaccording to the material and amount of the drying object.

At this time, based on identifying that the drying is complete when theratio value of the amount of emitted moisture with respect to themaximum value of the amount of emitted moisture is less than or equal to0.15 which is the first threshold value, semi-drying may be carried outaccording to the material of the drying object. For example, based onthe ratio value being 0.15 when a jean is inserted in the dryer 100, itmay be in a semi-dried state.

Accordingly, when drying objects of various materials and variousamounts are inserted in the dryer 100, there is a need to identifywhether drying is complete by setting different threshold values.

Referring to FIG. 8 , it may be verified that the time spent on dryingand the maximum internal humidity are different according to a shirttype, a jean type, a towel type, and a mixed clothing type. The timespent on drying may mean the time spent until the ratio of the amount ofemitted moisture with respect to the maximum value of the amount ofemitted moisture reaches a pre-set value.

Referring to FIG. 8 , even if the drying object of the same material isinserted, the maximum internal humidity and the time spent on drying maybe different according to the amount of the drying object.

Accordingly, the processor 190 may be configured to identify whetherdrying is complete by setting a second threshold value by reflecting thecharacteristic of the drying object to the pre-set first thresholdvalue. The processor 190 may be configured to set the second thresholdvalue based on the characteristic value of the drying object whichreflects the characteristic of the drying object. The characteristicvalue of the drying object may be defined as in Equation 2.

$\begin{matrix}{{{characteristic}{value}{of}{drying}{object}} = \frac{{{maxmimum}{internal}{humidity}} - {{external}{humidity}}}{\begin{matrix}{{{time}{spent}{on}{drying}} -} \\{{minimum}{drying}{operation}{time}}\end{matrix}}} & {{Equation}2}\end{matrix}$

A minimum drying operation time in Equation 2 may mean a dryingoperation time when minimum clothing is placed in the dryer 100. Theminimum drying operation time may be a pre-set value. The time spent ondrying may mean the time spent until the ratio value identified by theprocessor 190 reaches a point which is the pre-set value (e.g., firstthreshold value). The processor 190 may be configured to set thethreshold value (e.g., second threshold value) based on thecharacteristic value of the drying object. However, this is merely oneembodiment, and the characteristic value of the drying object may bedefined according to various equations using the characteristic of thedrying object.

The processor 190 may be configured to set a new threshold value byusing the threshold value and the characteristic value of the dryingobject stored in the memory 120. The processor 190 may be configured tonewly set the threshold value based on the characteristic value of thedrying object, and identify whether the drying is complete based on theset threshold value.

For example, the processor 190 may be configured to obtain a functionvalue by inputting a drying characteristic value to a random function Y.At this time, the random function Y may be a function which ispre-stored in the memory 120. The random function Y may be a firstlinear function, but this merely an embodiment, and function Y may beimplemented through various functions. The processor 190 may beconfigured to obtain a new second threshold value through calculationssuch as adding, multiplying, and the like of a random function value tothe pre-stored first threshold value.

For example, the memory 120 may be configured to match and store thedrying characteristic value with a compensation value. The processor 190may be configured to obtain, based on the drying characteristic valuebeing identified, the compensation value which is matched and storedwith the identified drying characteristic value, and obtain the secondthreshold value through calculation of the obtained compensation valuewith the first threshold value.

At this time, a minimum value and a maximum value of the threshold valuemay be set. The minimum value and the maximum value of the thresholdvalue may be values which are pre-stored in the memory 120. Based on acalculation result according to the above-described method being lessthan the minimum value, the second threshold value may be set as theminimum value. Based on the calculation result according to theabove-described method being greater than the maximum value, the secondthreshold value may be set as the maximum value. By setting the minimumvalue and the maximum value of the threshold value, the problem of thedrying object which is inserted in the dryer 100 being over-dried orsemi-dried may be prevented.

The dryer 100 may be configured to identify whether the ratio value ofthe amount of emitted moisture with respect to the maximum value of theamount of emitted moisture is less than or equal to the threshold value(S380).

Based on the ratio value of the amount of emitted moisture with respectto the maximum value of the amount of emitted moisture being greaterthan the threshold value (S380-N), the dryer 100 may be configured toidentify the external humidity of the dryer 100 based on the obtainedinternal humidity (S340).

Based on the ratio value of the amount of emitted moisture with respectto the maximum value of the amount of emitted moisture being less thanor equal to the threshold value (S380-Y), the dryer 100 may beconfigured to identify as the drying being complete.

The dryer 100 may be configured to identify, by identifying whetherdrying is complete based on the ratio value, an amount of drying objectsinserted in the dryer 100 and an optimum drying point even ifwater-content is changed.

Referring to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the processor 190 may be configured toidentify the ratio value (e.g., (β/α) of the amount of emitted moistureat a specific point with respect to the maximum value of the amount ofemitted moisture, and identify the specific point as the point at whichthe drying is complete based on the identified ratio value (e.g., β/α)being less than or equal to the threshold value. For example, themaximum value of the amount of emitted moisture may be 10[g/m³], and theamount of emitted moisture at the specific point may be 1.5[g/m³]. Atthis time, the processor 190 may be configured to identify the ratiovalue at the specific point as 0.15, and the threshold value stored inthe memory 120 may be 0.15. The processor 190 may be configured toidentify the specific point as the point at which the drying is completebecause the ratio value identified at the specific point is less than orequal to the threshold value.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a controlling method of the dryer 100according to an embodiment.

The dryer 100 may be configured to obtain the internal humidity of thedryer 100 by using the sensor 110 (S910).

The dryer 100 may be configured to identify the external humidity of thedryer based on the obtained internal humidity (S920). The dryer 100 maybe configured to identify a change rate in the internal humidity, andidentify the external humidity based on the identified change rate. Thedryer 100 may be configured to identify whether the internal humiditypassed the maximum humidity point, and identify whether the change ratein the internal humidity passed the minimum change rate point. Based onidentifying that the internal humidity passed the maximum humidity pointand the change rate in the internal humidity passed the minimum changerate point, the dryer 100 may be configured to identify the change ratein the internal humidity.

Based on the change in the internal humidity and external humidity, thedryer 100 may be configured to obtain information on the amount ofemitted moisture of the drying object which is inserted inside the dryer100 (S930). The dryer 100 may be configured to identify the value inwhich the external humidity value is subtracted from the internalhumidity value obtained at a specific point as the amount of emittedmoisture of the drying object at a specific point. The dryer 100 may beconfigured to identify the ratio value of the amount of emitted moisturewith respect to the maximum value of the amount of emitted moisture.

The dryer 100 may be configured to identify whether drying is completeby comparing the information on the amount of emitted moisture with thethreshold value (S940). The dryer 100 may be configured to identify thedrying as complete based on the ratio value of the amount of emittedmoisture with respect to the maximum value of the amount of emittedmoisture being less than or equal to the threshold value.

The terms “part” or “module” used in the disclosure may include a unitconfigured as a hardware, software, or firmware, and may be usedinterchangeably with terms such as, for example, and without limitation,logic, logic blocks, components, circuits, or the like. “Part” or“module” may be a component integrally formed or a minimum unit or apart of the component performing one or more functions. For example, amodule may be configured as an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC).

The various embodiments may be implemented with software includinginstructions stored in a machine-readable storage media (e.g.,computer). The machine may call an instruction stored in the storagemedium, and as a device capable of operating according to the calledinstruction, may include the dryer 100 according to the above-mentionedembodiments. Based on the instruction being executed by the processor,the processor may directly or using other elements under the control ofthe processor perform a function corresponding to the instruction. Theinstruction may include a code generated by a compiler or executed by aninterpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in theform of a non-transitory storage medium. Herein, ‘non-transitory’ merelymeans that the storage medium is tangible and does not include a signal,and the term does not differentiate data being semi-permanently storedor being temporarily stored in the storage medium.

According to an embodiment, a method according to the variousembodiments may be provided included a computer program product. Thecomputer program product may be exchanged between a seller and apurchaser as a commodity. The computer program product may bedistributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., acompact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or distributed online throughan application store (e.g., PLAYSTORE™). In the case of onlinedistribution, at least a portion of the computer program product (e.g.,downloadable app) may be at least stored temporarily in a storage mediumsuch as a server of a manufacturer, a server of an application store, ora memory of a relay server, or temporarily generated.

Each of the elements (e.g., a module or a program) according to variousembodiments may be comprised as a single entity or a plurality ofentities, and some sub-elements of the abovementioned sub-elements maybe omitted, or different sub-elements may be further included in thevarious embodiments. Alternatively or additionally, some elements (e.g.,modules or programs) may be integrated into one entity to perform thesame or similar functions performed by the respective elements prior tointegration. Operations performed by a module, a program, or anotherelement, in accordance with the various embodiments, may be performedsequentially, in a parallel, repetitively, or in a heuristic manner, orat least some operations may be performed in a different order, omittedor a different operation may be added.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dryer, comprising: at least one sensor to sensean internal humidity of the dryer; a memory configured to store at leastone instruction; and a processor connected with the memory andconfigured to control the dryer, wherein the processor is configured to:obtain, based on executing the at least one instruction, the internalhumidity of the dryer through the at least one sensor; identify anexternal humidity of the dryer based on the obtained internal humidity;obtain, based on a change in the internal humidity and a change in theexternal humidity, information on an amount of moisture of an objectplaced in the dryer to be dried; and identify whether a drying operationis complete by comparing the information on the amount of moisture ofthe object with a threshold value.
 2. The dryer of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is configured to identify a change rate in the internalhumidity, and identify the external humidity based on the identifiedchange rate.
 3. The dryer of claim 2, wherein the processor isconfigured to: identify whether the internal humidity passed a maximumhumidity point; identify whether the change rate in the internalhumidity passed a minimum change rate point; identify, based onidentifying that the internal humidity passed the maximum humidity pointand the change rate in the internal humidity passed the minimum changerate point, the change rate in the internal humidity; identify, based onthe identified change rate in the internal humidity, a predicted pointat which the change rate in the internal humidity becomes 0; identify apredicted internal humidity at a point at which the predicted changerate in the internal humidity becomes 0; and identify the predictedinternal humidity as the external humidity.
 4. The dryer of claim 1,wherein the processor is configured to: identify a value of the internalhumidity compared to the external humidity as the amount of moisture ofthe object; identify a ratio value of the identified amount of moistureof the object with respect to a maximum value of the amount of moistureof the object; and identify the drying operation as complete based onthe ratio value being less than or equal to the threshold value.
 5. Thedryer of claim 1, wherein the threshold value is set differentlyaccording to a characteristic of the object.
 6. The dryer of claim 5,wherein the characteristic of the object comprises at least one fromamong a maximum value of the amount of moisture of the object and a timespent on drying.
 7. The dryer of claim 1, wherein the processor isconfigured to: identify a change pattern in the internal humidity;predict a drying complete time point based on the identified changepattern; and provide the predicted drying complete time point.
 8. Acontrolling method of a dryer, the method comprising: obtaining aninternal humidity of the dryer from at least one sensor; identifying anexternal humidity of the dryer based on the obtained internal humidity;obtaining, based on a change in the internal humidity and a change inthe external humidity, information on an amount of moisture of an objectplaced in the dryer to be dried; and identifying whether a dryingoperation is complete by comparing the information on the amount ofmoisture of the object with a threshold value.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the identifying the external humidity comprises identifying achange rate in the internal humidity, and identifying the externalhumidity based on the identified change rate.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the identifying the external humidity comprises: identifyingwhether the internal humidity passed a maximum humidity point;identifying whether a change rate in the internal humidity passed aminimum change rate point; identifying, based on identifying that theinternal humidity passed the maximum humidity point and the change ratein the internal humidity passed the minimum change rate point, thechange rate in the internal humidity; identifying, based on theidentified change rate in the internal humidity, a predicted point atwhich the change rate in the internal humidity becomes 0; identifying apredicted internal humidity at a point at which a change rate in thepredicted internal humidity becomes 0; and identifying the predictedinternal humidity as the external humidity.
 11. The method of claim 8,wherein the obtaining the information on the amount of moisture of theobject comprises: identifying a value of the internal humidity comparedto the external humidity as the amount of moisture of the object; andidentifying a ratio value of the identified amount of moisture of theobject with respect to a maximum value of the amount of moisture of theobject, and wherein the identifying whether drying is complete comprisesidentifying drying as complete based on the ratio value being less thanor equal to the threshold value.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein thethreshold value is set differently according to a characteristic of theobject.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the characteristic of theobject comprises at least one from among a maximum value of an amount ofmoisture of the object and a time spent on drying.
 14. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the controlling method further comprises: identifying achange pattern in the internal humidity; predicting a drying completetime point based on the identified change pattern; and providing thepredicted drying complete time point.
 15. A non-transitory computerreadable recording medium comprising a program for executing acontrolling method of a dryer, the controlling method comprising:obtaining an internal humidity of the dryer from at least one sensor;identifying an external humidity of the dryer based on the obtainedinternal humidity; obtaining, based on a change in the internal humidityand a change in the external humidity, information on an amount ofmoisture of an object placed in the dryer to be dried; and identifyingwhether a drying operation is complete by comparing the information onthe amount of moisture emitted from the object with a threshold value.